7,000
Adolescent Medicine clinic visits/yearWelcome to Adolescent Medicine
The Department of Pediatrics Section of Adolescent Medicine provides the majority of its clinical services at Children's Hospital Colorado, in Aurora.
The University of Colorado School of Medicine, the Department of Pediatrics, and Children's Hospital Colorado offer a one- or three-year fellowship in adolescent medicine.
The Adolescent Medicine faculty is interested in an array of issues dealing with the major morbidity and mortality of this age group, including health services delivery, violence, sexual health and disease, teenage pregnancy, violence, mental health, and gynecologic disorders.
Leadership
Diane Straub, MD, MPH, received her medical degree from Johns Hopkins University in 1995 and her Master’s in Public Health degree from Harvard University in 1996. She completed a residency in pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University in 1999 and a fellowship in adolescent medicine at the University of California, San Francisco in 2002. She became section head in 2021 and replaced Dr. David Kaplan, who served as Section Head for 37 years.
Prior to coming to CU, Straub was at the University of South Florida where she was Chief of the Division of Adolescent Medicine from 2006-2021.
Chronicling Adolescent Medicine
1957 — The Adolescent Clinic, one of the first in the nation, begins when C. Henry Kempe schedules “special teen days” each week within the Colorado General Hospital pediatric clinic. Ida Nakashima serves as director.
1965 — The Adolescent Clinic moved to its own space at Colorado General Hospital and Henry Cooper is named director of the program.
1967— The Adolescent Fellowship—one of the first Adolescent Medicine training programs in the country—was launched by the School of Medicine.
1984 — David Kaplan becomes Section Head and establishes the first Adolescent Clinic at Children’s Hospital. The Adolescent Medicine Inpatient unit is also established.
1986 — The Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatient Unit at The Children’s Hospital is established by David Kaplan and David Raney.
1986 — The Eating Disorder Program, one of the first in the nation, is started by Jennifer Hagman, Eric Sigel and David Kaplan at The Children’s Hospital.
1987 — Denver’s first School-Based Health Center—also one of the first in the nation—is founded at Abraham Lincoln and East High Schools by David Kaplan.
1991 — Catherine Stevens-Simon establishes the Colorado Adolescent Maternity Program (CAMP) and the Young Mother’s clinic, one of the first “teen-tot” programs in the country
2000 — The Adolescent Medicine fellowship program is accredited after establishment of Adolescent Medicine by the American Board of Pediatrics as a distinct pediatric subspecialty.
2009 — The Adolescent Family Planning Clinic (BC4U), is established by Elizabeth Romer and David Kaplan.
2011 — The HIV research effort led by Daniel Reirden and Elizabeth McFarland is named a NICHD-funded adolescent trials network site.
2012 — Based on his work in youth violence prevention, Eric Sigel is awarded a $1,025,000 grant from the National Institute of Justice in the wake of the Sandy Hook Massacre to study ways to leverage health care to decrease the impact of firearm injury.
2013 — The School of Medicine establishes a combined Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Residency Program with Dan Reirden as named co-director.
6,500
Adolescent Family Planning (BC4U) clinic visits/year1,200
TRUE Center visits/year